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Ben Askren will likely defend his welterweight crown on Dec. 17 at Impact Arena in Bangkok, Thailand, One Championship CEO Victor Cui revealed in an interview with The Independent . A challenger was not named, though Askren has unfinished business with Luis Santos .

In an effort to bring more attention to the global stage of mixed martial arts, this list does not focus on major North American-based promotions such as the Ultimate Fighting Championship , Bellator MMA and the World Series of Fighting : The One Championship stage once again belongs to Ben Askren . Askren will defend his welterweight crown against Nikolay Aleksakhin in the One Championship 40 "Global Rivals" main event on April 15 at the Mall of Asia Arena in Manila, Philippines.